I hope you are all well. It has been 7 months since I posted this thread, and I came back tonight to review it all - because, unfortunately, Em has had another flare-up. This time, there is a diagnosis - pancreatitis for sure. And we are back on the same road, and I'm trying not to freak out. I wondered if any of your cats have dealt with this condition, and what I should be expecting. Unfortunately, I don't feel like things are going right and I don't know what to do. To be totally honest, I'm trying not to totally lose it. Em is very sick and I'm really scared.

We thought we had caught the flare-up before it flew out of control like the first time. He stopped eating and we immediately took him in. Here's the sequence of events:

Dec 28-30 - became very finicky about food and vomited multiple times, food at first and then foamy clear/yellow liquid.Dec 31 - took him to his vet to be evaluated, as he had not eaten for 24 hours. Vet gave prescription food, a medicine to coat his stomach so food would be digested more easily, and an anti-nausea med.Jan 1 - No improvement. Had a mouthful of food. Went to ER.Jan 2-3 - two nights at ER. Test positive for pancreatitis and treatis. Liver blood levels a bit high - disturbing. Kept him on fluids, anti-nausea meds, and pain meds. No other treatments. He improved greatly at the hospital, was perky and ate food.Jan 4 - came home and immediately spiraled, like immediately. Hid all day and didn't eat anything. We were also not discharged with ANYTHING - no signs to watch for, no meds, no instructions, just a summary of what was done, and "yay he's all better."Jan 5 - still not eating. I call the hospital and they say to take him back in to show us how to give the IV at home. Gave him an anti nausea injection and gave us pain meds to give at home. He ate a tiny bit of food and now refuses it again and is curled up in the bed. Refuses to do anything but burrow in his blankets.

I really don't know what to do. I asked about giving him a steroid injection and the Dr. said she didn't do that unless he had IBD, even though I said I knew others who used temporary steroid injections when their cats had flare-ups. I'm angry my request was ignored and feel that he should have one at this point, because clearly things aren't working. Our regular vet called me today and said he was worried, based on the initial tests, about the terrifying and possibly fatal hepatic lipidosis setting in if he doesn't eat more food soon, and that he might have to have a feeding tube if tomorrow comes with no improvement.

Last time he recovered naturally with mild medications, and I'm scared to put him through tons of trauma. We have also dropped over $2000 already, and are not rich - that said we will do what we need to do if it will save his life. He is lying in bed now, and I don't know whether to drag him out for a 5th hospital visit or wait until morning. I'm so scared.

Does anyone have experience with this?

Make sure he is drinking enough and if he is not drinking he needs to get back to the hospital ASAP.

Thank you so much. We are definitely monitoring him. Since I last posted, we have been given a saline drip pack to hydrate Em in the mornings, as well as a cocktail of anti-nausea, anti-pain, and pepcid to mix in with a prescription high calorie food. He is utterly refusing to eat on his own, so we have been syringe feeding him every 2 hours. He is hydrated for sure, but it is imperative that he eat in order to avoid liver damage. If he doesn't show improvement by tomorrow, he may get a feeding tube. He just had a successful syringe feeding (though the poor thing hates it, understandably). We're just worried because he is really listless, and just huddles under the covers between feedings. He is also on an antibiotic in case of triaditis, which is combination IBS and bacterial infection, which leads to pancreatitis. He was tested for TF early on and came back negative, though he has always had on and off diarrhea.

I really want him out of the woods. He's such a gentle, loving, wonderful cat. Here's him and his torbie sister.

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